Colin makes the papers...

...St. Aloysius graduate Colin Reid of Vicksburg will be attending the University of Mississippi this fall. He plans to major in international studies.

"I'm not sure about my career plans, but I was kind of wavering back and forth between four or five majors," he said. "I'm sort of interested in international journalism or maybe public policy or public relations."

Reid has been keeping busy this summer working at a Vicksburg coffee shop and reading two books required by the university's honors program.

Designation as a National Merit Scholar is based largely on a student's performance on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

Reid said he remembers taking the test in both his sophomore and junior years in high school. "I had a book that was put out by a study program like Kaplan," he said.

Reid said he prepared for the test, but admits that he did not study as much for the PSAT as he did for the ACT and SAT.

More than 200 colleges and universities are sponsoring nearly 4,600 National Merit Scholarship awards this year. In September 2005, about 16,000 semifinalists were named on a state representational basis. Those students had to submit a detailed scholarship application and meet other requirements to advance to finalist standing.

Approximately 8,200 students were named National Merit Scholars for the 2005-2006 school year. In addition to college-sponsored scholarships, students were also awarded corporate-sponsored and National Merit-funded scholarships.

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Music and Litereature: This Friday, August 4

Mississippi author Unita Blackwell will be reading from her new book Barefootin' recently released from Crown Publishers.

She and coauthor JoAnne Prichard Morris will be signing copies of the book at the Attic Gallery on Friday, August 4 starting at 4:30 PM followed by readings downstairs in the Attic's new Highway 61 Coffeehouse.

Local musician Fred Bolm, will be performing originals and covers until 9:30 PM.

Sweetening the Pot...

20060720

Opening...now

It seems as if the time has come for HIghway 61 Coffeehouse. We are opening each day at 7 AM with a full espresso bar, and excellent brewed coffees from Batdorf & Bronson (of Olympia, Washington and Atlanta, Georgia.)

We have some signature cold and iced drinks, including the increasingly famous Frozen Mocha Mojo, a chocolate lover's dream. Also we have all natural fruit smoothies with no sugar added. They are both what some would call, "frozen concoctions that help us hang on," in this sweltering heat of one more Mississippi summer.

Next week our Live Music Thursdays begin with Celtic Music by Joanne Ryan and Nick & Julia Blake. That happens from about 7:30 to 9:30, and it should be fun.

Angie, Colin, Rebekah and I want you to come see us. And while you're here, the Attic Gallery upstairs is always worth the climb.

We are proud of our roaster and their coffees. Here's a message from their website: Batdorf & Bronson -- America's first green-powered coffee roaster. At Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters, we purchase 100% of our electricity from renewable resources, use solar energy to help power our computer system, and keep 30,000 pounds of refuse out of the landfill each year with our recycling and composting programs. With all of these efforts, we are working to lighten our environmental footprint and move toward a cleaner future. Our commitment to sustainable business practices has garnered awards from the Governor of the State of Washington and the Environmental Protection Agency.